Sunday, August 17, 2008

Do you ever sit back and wonder what you will do if someone should ever break into your home? Of course you do. Like me you probably imagine that you will be spectacular at defending yourself. No one imagines suddenly morphing into Pizza the Hut. No, maybe you're a Ninja. Or Wonder Woman. Or Jan Crouch from TBN. (Okay, maybe the last one is just me.) In your delusion, perhaps you're strong, or crafty, or exceedingly ambidextrous. No matter because everyone knows that this is a fantasy and this will never happen to you. But then, it does...Someone broke into our house Friday night. Seriously.

I slept through the entire thing so I feel I have the duty to piece the story together, grossly exaggerating the parts that are unclear to me.

OKAY this all happened really fast, so read really fast and imagine lots of shock and adrenaline:

Dan wakes at 3 a.m. to find a criminal exiting our home. He has taken Dan's wallet and car keys. Dan runs through our front door to find the thief is backing our car down the driveway. Dan runs after him, "GET OUT OF MY CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Then Dan starts running down the street behind the car.

Thief Dude stops the car and gets out, holding his hands in the air. He starts running away. Dan chases him. Then he catches him.

Dan: GIVE ME MY WALLET!Dude: I don't have your wallet!

Dan: Get back over to my house! NOW!

The guy starts walking back to our house, which is really polite in a felony kind of way. He wasn't a very smart felon, however, because he didn't put our car in park when he got out and started running. Consequently the car was rolling down our street. When Dan went to get it the perpetrator took off. Dan called the police.

No one was hurt. The kids and I slept through the entire thing, including the police searching our home looking for clues. When Dan told me later the next morning, long after it had all happened, I lost it. All the "what if" scenarios washed over me like a wave crashing against a rocky shore. My knees literally buckled under the pressure.

In the limited amount of time I have had to process this, I keep coming back to the idea that I could have lost Dan. I mean, really, my husband chased down someone who was brazen enough to break into our home. There are so many things that could have happened. If I dwell on them too long, the tidal wave crashes all over again. That wave renders me defenseless against the demons of my mind. All the horrible "what if" situations are Satan's way of distracting me from what God did in and around me that night.

His provision is best summed up like this: My kids and I slept peacefully in the midst of real danger. We found safety in the form of pillows, blankets, and the shelter of God. We pray His protection over us all the time, so why should I be surprised that He did just that?

Looking at all of my life I have to wonder about the times I let the "what ifs" rob me of what God was actively doing around me. For me, I can easily get lost in the dungeon of my mind, shackled to fear, or at least indecision. There is nothing Satan would like more than to immobilize me. Being stuck in one place keeps me from moving toward God.

It has taken me a few days to process everything, which is probably normal. But today is Sunday, and it's over. God is here and together we're up and walking.

lady... (from SFL's husband) you obviously have not been updated...since moving to KY and being on a steady diet of KY Bluegrass, Bourbon and tobacco, I've beefed up to a solid 6'0, 145lbs (soaking wet). Tell your husband to watch out-I want my blue shirt back! I'm not afraid to chase him for it.

WHOA. What a crazy story. I'm thankful God protected you and the kids, and your brave husband Dan! My goodness, he's a brave one. What a rockstar! (But I'm sure it didn't feel that way in the moment, for you or him, huh?)

We have had that happen, and I know what you mean about all the "what ifs" that pass through your mind. It's so hard to get past that, but it definitely necessary in order to move on to normal life. There's no reason that we should have slept through our break-in, NOR our faithful boxer dog, but we did. God's protection is evident, and I am thankful for that!

I'm glad you are all ok. Last summer my 6 yr old had to get pulled out of the pool by my husband when he slipped out of his inner tube. I was 9 mos pregnant and couldn't move fast enough. All the what if's about what if my husband hadn't been with us or hadn't seen it happen are still with me. (Actually, my son didn't slip. He wanted to see what would happen if he let go. I love having sons.)

A tragic story, turn heroic; followed by praise of the name Dan? I would be foolish not to comment! Wouldn’t all men of the same name be proud of hearing their name with such joy and excitement, even if not about themselves? A brotherhood in name only, supporting one another by an invisible bond, from Genesis to Revelations. Great work, my brother! Represent!

From naughty anon Dan to new friends, may Christ Jesus bless your family!

I am so sorry this happened to you. Really. My husband and I just watched a movie called Felon. It was good but Stace, you may need some time between what happened and watching it.

My husband and I joked about what we would do and while we were laughing about it, we were both aware that I would have done what Dan did (and the guy in Felon) and that may or may not be cool, depending on the outcome.

I am glad everything worked out in the end for yall and how fun that you are married to your real and true hero!! Grace & Peace, daphne

A few years ago, three years exactly this Halloween, we were vandalized. Our house was sprayed with neon paint, our roof was painted, out trampoline was sliced with a big box cutter in 11 spots. Right where little boy's feet could go through and be shredded by torn trampolone matting. Then 2 nights later they came back. All was quiet after that for 6 months, then late one night, they came in the wee hours of the morning and nearly destroyed our van. They smashed the back window, sliced seats, and cut swear words, swastikas and pentagrams all over the van with a knife. It was EXTREMELY difficult on all of us. Their reason? One of them disliked our teenage daughter. I was SO strung out because I was unable to predict the perils for my kids and thus spare them, and ended up on some anti-depressants. Let's just say that she was a wreck too. School was somewhat unsafe.Thankfully for us, we have friends in the local police department and were walked throught the process with kindness and friendship. Not that police are usually nice, but when the bonds of friendship can pave over the sharpness of the events, it sure does help. As does having friends with an arsenal.

I can fully understand the what-if's because we lived them daily from the first of the attacks until the confessions 7 months later. The day the police called to inform us of the confessions, well, I cried tears of joy and relief.We even got to be the ones deciding if charges were to be laid, or would we go through a much more interesting experience known as "Alternative Measures". Let's just say that AM had a much more immediate and effective influence on them than simply laying charges and waiting 2 years for a court date. We got to speak to each of them individually and were granted every cent of the damages we incurred. As well, they had to answer our long list of questions, with their parents and the police present. 2 are squeeky clean members of society and one just is waiting for a few years before he tries something else. And the police know exactly where he is, and anytime anything interesting happens in his neighbourhood, they drive around waiting for him to show up.God is good, we are well and whole and our LARGE dog is very, VERY good at guarding our kids and our house.

And Dan? My 14 year old boy is 6 feet and 150 pounds. If you guys are short of, you know money for school clothes, I'm sure we could send you his hand me downs.